The invention relates to slide-articulation bearings, in particular for tiltable converters, which bearings have a circular-cylindrical sliding face forming a unit with an axle or shaft to be supported sliding elements, (preferably produced of synthetic material and held by a cage) contacting the sliding face, and an outer race with a spherical inner face for accommodating the wobbling movements of the axle or shaft.
Such a slide-articulation bearing functioning as an expansion bearing is known from German Utility Model No. 7,502,998. The bearing race holding the slide elements -- and thus taking over the function of a cage -- has on its outer side a spherical slide face cooperating with the spherical inner face of the outer race, so that rotations and axial displacements of the axle or shaft are accommodated by slide elements. However, wobbling movements of the axle or shaft have to be accommodated by sliding the bearing race directly on the outer race, whereby friction conditions prevail for the wobbling movements, which conditions can be controlled only with difficulty. A further disadvantage of the known bearing is that the making of the spherical outer face of the bearing race holding the slide elements requires complex production procedures. Furthermore, a relatively great construction height is necessary when using three bearing races movable relative to one another and accommodating the load. The known bearing construction thus is heavy and expensive.
From Austrian Pat. No. 325,081 a slide-articulation bearing is known whose outer race is designed as a slide bushing, so that the articulation bearing is displaceable within the bearing housing. When axially displacing the axle or shaft the total bearing inset must thus be displaced within the bearing housing. Also with this bearing, unstable friction conditions can be created by the immediate contact between the metallic outer race and the bearing housing.